dj bean

Bruins get a thorough win vs. Habs

Let’s get the clichés out of the way early, because there’s a big one that come to mind after the Bruins’ 2-1 come-from-behind win over the Canadiens on Wednesday night at the Bell Centre.

That was, indeed, a character win. Wednesday’s game wasn’t supposed to be easy for a couple reasons. For starters, it was in Montreal, but most importantly, this Canadiens team appears to be legit. Factor in that nine out of the teams' previous 10 meetings (including the last four games of the 2011 Eastern Conference quarterfinals) were one-goal games and it seemed pretty clear that Wednesday night’s tilt would be a tough one.

That it was, and it certainly wasn’t the Bruins’ best-played game. Specifically, they could have been sharper in a first period in which they were outshot 11-4, with brilliant work from Tuukka Rask (20 saves on 21 shots) and an inability to finish from the Habs the difference between the scoreless game that it was and a potential multiple-goal Montreal lead early on. Milan Lucic could have not taken a pair of second-period penalties against Andrei Markov, both because they were ill-advised (a high stick that yielded P.K. Subban’s power-play goal, and a slash in the offensive zone) and because they ended up proving Pierre McGuire right with his countless mentions of the Bruins potentially “going after” Markov.

Wednesday night could have been a much different story if the Habs capitalized on frequent chances. If Tomas Plekanec doesn’t lose the puck on a second-period breakaway or he doesn’t miss the net from the high slot in the third period, the result could be much different. The same goes for Colby Armstrong, who missed the net on an easy tip-in just over a minute into the game.

Yet at the end of the day, the Bruins came away with an impressive victory from top to bottom. Not only was Rask phenomenal, but the B’s overcame the absences of two penalty-killers in Brad Marchand and Daniel Paille, as Patrice Bergeron, Gregory Campbell, Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley earned their paychecks with big minutes on the PK (though Peverley got a stick on Subban’s slap shot to redirect his goal past Rask, he also led Bruins forwards with five minutes on the penalty kill).

Furthermore, Claude Julien made his best move of the young season by waking up his top-six forwards with adjustments that included right wingers Tyler Seguin and Nathan Horton switching places on the top two lines entering the third period. The move paid off as Seguin and David Krejci scored the game-tying and game-winning goals on their first and second shifts of the period, respectively. That came after Seguin failed to register a shot on net in the first two periods of the game.

(Quickly on the subject of the possibility of the B’s sticking with a top line of Krejci between Lucic and Seguin: Bad idea, and I don’t think it happens. While the idea of shaking things up to get Seguin going is tempting, remember that the trio was a defensive liability in the limited time it saw action last season after Horton went down with a concussion. The line scored, but it allowed more goals than it produced. That’s a no-no in Claude Julien’s eyes any day of the week. It worked in the scenario in which the B’s found themselves -- down a goal and needing an offensive jolt -- but in the long run they’re better off with the two power forwards with Krejci, with Seguin being aided by the defensively brilliant Bergeron.)

It’s hard to call a win from a first-place team much-needed, but the ramifications of the contest were big. The victory helped the B’s leapfrog the idle Penguins (who have played 10 games to Boston’s nine) and reclaim the top spot in the Eastern Conference with 15 points. It also gave them some space from Montreal in the surprisingly competitive Northeast Division. Ottawa (another team with 10 games played) sits two points behind the B’s, while Montreal is third with 12.

The Bruins weren’t expected to have to make many big statements against the Habs this season, as their longtime rivals weren’t expected to be able to compete at the same level as them after finishing 27th in the league last season and undergoing thorough offseason changes. As predictions often are, that was all way off. Even when the Canadiens struggled down the stretch and dropped their last four meetings against the Bruins last season, all four games were decided by a goal (one of which was settled in a shootout).

Taking a second crack at predictions, it’s safe to say that when these two teams meet again March 3 at TD Garden, it will be a big one. First place might not be on the line, but if Wednesday’s game suggested anything, it won’t be an easy two points. Then again, with the teams turning in yet another one-goal game, this rivalry wouldn’t have it any other way.

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